We can’t stand by and watch Trump destroy International Law

Makaila Duncan

If you have never heard about ‘Mickey Mouse’ degrees, these are apparently programmes of study that are not marketable. I was warned early on to avoid these like a plague because they are a waste of money. I believe it is safe to say that a law degree would never fall under this category, right? Law is supposed to be one of the good ones. Not only is it a marketable and profitable degree, it is also a vital one.

The law is a powerful force that upholds the fabric of society, making those who interpret it – lawyers – almost equally important. But watching the escalation of the US military operation in the Caribbean, which started with the bombing of boats and the killing of dozens of people without due process and culminated with the US invading Venezuela and capturing Nicolás Maduro, I can’t help but question the profession’s value.

‘Trump says US will ‘run’ Venezuela and ‘fix oil infrastructure’ – an article by the BBC news claimed. ‘Why has Trump attacked Venezuela and taken Maduro?’ – another questioned. Countless articles, footage of the strikes, and images of the Venezuelan president in handcuffs invaded my notifications. However, none of these articles managed to answer the key questions that needed answering. Was this legal? And if so, how? And if not, what is going to be done about it?

Well, according US vice president, JD Vance, it is in fact legal. “PSA for everyone saying this was illegal… Maduro has multiple indictments in the United States and you can’t avoid justice because you live in another country”, he said on X.

But what about the civilians who died in this strike? Where is their justice? According to the Middle East Eye, the death count of Venezuelan civilians and military personnel has risen to 80. Does an indictment for Venezuela’s president give the US the legal justification to conduct this military kidnapping and extrajudicial killings?

International law seems to disagree. “All members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations,” article 2(4) of the UN Charter states. The message is clear – Trump’s administration’s actions were a violation of international law.

Despite what the administration is likely to argue, no legal exceptions to this article, self-defence or consent from the lawful government of the state being attacked, are relevant. Assumptions otherwise would require stretching the boundaries of the law’s exceptions so far that the law itself would become obsolete.

Of course, perhaps the most damning indictment of the disregard for international laws and treaties, to which the US is signatory, is the appalling and frightening utterance from Trump himself that he does not need international law and is being constrained by his own morality.

According to UN international law, Trump’s actions were clearly in violation. What baffles me as an aspiring international lawyer is how the world stood by and allowed this to happen.

Months ago, when the Guardian reported about concerns that ‘Trump is killing poor people’ as the airstrikes continued to target civilians that Trump claims were “narcoterrorists”, human rights lawyers such as Juanita Goebertus Estrada were warning that Trump’s actions were in violation of international human rights law. But it didn’t seem to matter. It didn’t matter that the law gives everyone a fundamental right to a fair trial. It didn’t matter that, even if people are proven to be drug traffickers that drug trafficking is not a crime punishable by execution in any US state.

Despite the fact that the extrajudicial killings stood on no legal framework and despite the voices echoing across the globe that this is wrong, the military measures of the United States in the Caribbean were still allowed to escalate and claim dozens of lives. So how can we not question the value of the law? If international law lacks de facto effect, what is its purpose? Is legality still a relevant factor in government operations, or will governments continue to act as though they are above it? As young people, we need to ask ourselves what would happen to the world if we do not demand, not just answers to these questions, but action to protect the sanctity of the law.

Makaila Duncan is a British-Vincentian student who aspires to be an international lawyer. She is passionate about advocating for climate justice for vulnerable island states.